iStopMotion Still Camera Plugin
New purchases of iStopMotion DV or HR contain suport for Still Cameras. You only may want to purchase a Still Camera Plugin license separately if you purchased iStopMotion DV before April 6th, 2007.
The Still Camera Plugin uses the Apple Image Capture Framework which has been designed to abstract the process of importing pictures from a camera device so that it can be used with any number of different cameras.
Please read on to find out more about the Still Camera Plugin:
What functionality is supported?
Importing images from the camera
Many digital still cameras only support downloading of pictures that you have already taken and that are stored in the camera. With these cameras, iStopMotion simply displays a window with all the images on the camera and lets you pick the pictures you like and import them into the current movie.
Remote Capture
Some cameras also support remote capture, where the computer tells the camera to shoot a picture and that picture is immediately transfered to the computer. In this case, iStopMotion treats the imported picture just like it would treat a live stream from a video cam. You can use the onion skinning, blinking and other tools to help you animate. The only difference to a live video cam is that you'll have to manually trigger the capturing of the image for preview.
See the sideline for information on how to test your still camera.
Can I do Time Lapse?
If your digital still camera supports Remote Capture, iStopMotion can use it for time lapse recordings. The turnaround time for most cameras is quite long, so you can't capture frames very fast. Also, some small digital still cameras with retractable optics tend to drive the lens in and out between capture. In that case, the mechanics of the camera is easily damaged if you do extensive time lapse recordings or stop motion animations.
Does it mean that I get high resolution?
iStopMotion 1.5 or higher comes in 2 flavours: iStopMotion DV and iStopMotion HR. The DV version lets you create movies with up to DV (PAL/NTSC) resolution, the HR version is unlimited. The Still Camera Plug In will import the pictures at full resolution and quality, but will then scale the image to the output movie resolution that you've set when you start your iStopMotion project.
You need a iStopMotion HR license to get high resolution output. iStopMotion HR includes the Still Image Capture Plugin.
About Still Camera Plugin
The iStopMotion Still Camera Plugin is a key that unlocks the import functionality for digital still cameras. No additional software download is required. If you purchase an iStopMotion HR license, the Still Camera Plugin is included.
How to test your camera
In order to test whether your still camera works with iStopMotion do the folllowing:
- Get and install iStopMotion 1.10.
- Get an iStopMotion DV or iStopMotion HR demo license.
- Get a still camera plugin demo license.
- Start iStopMotion and install the licenses.
- Select "Test Still Camera" from the Help menu and follow the instructions.
- Please submit your test results for inclusion in the Supported Cameras page.
- Try iStopMotion 1.10 with your camera before you buy. Tell us if you like it.
